Second question - are you doing this while there is still snow on the ground (as there finally is now), or in late spring/summer/fall?

I will assume you are talking about "no-snow" conditions. The trailhead is the Bridalveil Campground on the Glacier Point road.. There is a shuttle bus from Yosemite Village (in the Valley) that will get you to the campground. You will need reservations (better get them in NOW for anything earlier than June).

Another question is what your route is - where are you planning to leave the rental car? If you will be within the park, you can get to a bus to Modesto from a number of airports in Calif (SFO/SJC/OAK in the SFBay Area, Sacramento, LAX in the LA Area, Reno), via a taxi from the airport to the bus station. In Modesto, you catch a bus that goes directly into the Valley (again, make your camp reservation NOW). That saves the rental car business.

Depending on your route, you could leave the car in the parking area next to Camp Curry in the Valley or at Tuolumne Meadows.

I assume you are planning on camping near Ostrander. Getting a bunk to stay in Ostrander Hut is iffy, even with a long lead reservation.

That all being said, things change in Yosemite fairly rapidly. The new long range plan is for many of the camping areas in the park and other facilities to be removed - back to more pristine times. This will continue to be argued over, sor a few more years, though.

So the plan is to hike from Ostrander and end up in Curry Village. Which shuttle bus is this that goes to the camp ground? All I have found is the 4 hour tour bus that goes up to Glacier Point and says they do not stop anywhere along the way....

Thanks for the help, you're much more useful than a ranger station voice mail!

Looking at the website, I see that they say that the "Glacier Point Tour" is a 1-way ride from the Valley to Glacier Point, then you hike down on your own. The "4-Mile Trail" (which is a bit more than 4 miles) goes between Glacier Point and the Valley floor, though still a bit of a walk to get to Camp Curry.

So this may be a change for the new concessionaires, not like the old Curry Company. You might call (209) 372-4FUN (4386) to talk to them directly to ask if you can get dropped at the turnoff on the Glacier Point road to Bridalveil Campground. From the entrance gate, you walk straight south through the campground to the Ostrander trailhead. There is one other trailhead closer to Glacier Point. Or you could even hike from where the bus drops everyone off at Glacier Point.

A question - Are you talking about hiking out to Ostrander Lake and the hut? Or, maybe you are talking about Ostrander Rocks? If you are talking about hiking out to Ostrander Lake, what trail are you planning to take from there to the Valley? Panorama? Past Ilillouette Falls?

I am a bit confused about what route you are talking about taking. Ostrander Lake and the ski hut are pretty much a 1-way into then back out hike, with no easy connection back to Camp Curry.

Here is a map of the 2 trailheads I mentioned on the Glacier Point Road that includes Glacier Point and Ostrander Lake. You can see the Panorama Trail and 4-Mile trail, plus the other trails in the area. To see the detail, click on the map, then click on "View, download original". You can then see more detail by moving the cursor/magnifying glass over the map.